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May 9, 2012

My first moment of reverse culture shock came rather quickly. It happened the same day I arrived in California. After the hour and a half long drive home from LAX, I really had to pee. I groggily went to my bathroom, and took care of business. It was after that the culture shock occurred.

I went to flush the toilet, and something was wrong. There was nothing on the top for me to pull or push. “How do I….” I began to think, when I almost immediately remembered that in America, the flush is on the side of the toilet.

Most of the big differences I was mentally prepared for. I knew I would be carded again and that the cars are bigger here. It was the smaller stuff that crept up on me unexpectedly; the weight of a coke can; how awkward it felt ending a text conversation without “bisous.”

I think what made it so weird is that most things were still the same at home. I would often quickly remember, “oh right, that’s how we do things here.” It wasn’t my home that had changed. I had changed.

Despite feeling ever so American the entire time I was living in Lille, I now felt entirely too French. It would seem I am no longer 100% either way.

8 comments:

Ah...the fate of the ex-pat! I think it is one of the scariest things about living overseas for a long period...you stop belonging anywhere. Hope that your transition goes well - are you in U.S. for good now?

My first moment like this occurred five years ago on a trip to NYC. I was shopping at Gap and when I was paying, I was looking at the American money in my hand and was struggling with it like I used to with Euros. It was a little embarrassing.

About Me

I am an American girl who, after spending 2.5 years living in Lille, France and breaking up with my now ex-French boyfriend (otherwise known as FBF), decided to continue the French adventure and move to Troyes to get my Master's. Currently residing in Paris, I spend a lot of my time being baffled by the French (including, but not limited to, their culture, food, and language). I've decided to share not only the moments where I feel a part of this foreign land, but also the moments where I simply don’t get it. C’est ma vie quotidienne (It's my everyday life)!